Musical Multiple Intelligence

Regular readers..... you know how I've been learning about building-a-better-blog? One of my lessons is to broaden my reach, by inviting others here to write a blog post from their unique perspective. A special welcome to my first guest author!! What follows today is an article written by my blogging buddy, Jen Lilienstein. Her expertise is on Multiple Intelligence and I've asked her to share specifically on musical intelligence of course. I had asked that she share some ideas for parents & families. I think after you read her article below, you'll realize her suggestions can be applied to the classroom as well. Welcome Jen!!

MI theory says that as human beings we are all at promise for all intelligences. We all carry an MI "toolbox." How we differ is in which tools we prefer to use, are best at using, as well as how we use them. But, the best part about multiple intelligences is that, unlike the traditional IQ standard in which the belief is that you have a defined potential, multiple intelligence advocates (like me) believe that intelligence is elastic and smarts can be stretched.

Here's one way we enjoy tapping into our musical intelligence as a family—all together. Even my 3 year old can get in on the action. We call it our “audible feast”.

As we all know, variety is the spice of life…but many of us get stuck in a rut when it comes to the musical genres to which we will listen. Luckily, this exercise is a piece of cake in the age of cable, satellite TV and the Internet. So, go to one of the music channels that you wouldn’t normally select on your preferred device, put on the timer for an hour, then PUT DOWN THE MOUSE or remote.

Unless there’s a lot of profanity in the lyrics, don’t change the station or turn off the channel.

In our house, we try to commit to spending at least ONE hour per week experiencing an out-of-the-ordinary musical genre as a family. The kids don’t need to love it, but we try to help them appreciate the layers and complexity of the rhythms, instruments and vocals. Here are some of the questions we ask ourselves:

 What instruments do you hear in the music?

 Are they different or similar to the ones used in the music you normally listen to?

 How do the rhythms differ?

 What do you think of the lyrics?

 Is the music melodic or dissonant?

 Is there more of a variation in dynamics (e.g. transitions from loud to soft or vice-versa)?

Just like you would find in your normal genres (or when you sit down to a nightly “feast” at your dinner table), you’ll hear artists you enjoy listening to more than others…and if you’re using a service like Pandora, Slacker, or Spotify, you can customize the new genre to suit your family’s musical “taste buds”.

So, belly-up to a Song Smorgasbord this weekend and sample some new musical delights.

Bon appetit!

Ms. Lilienstein is the Founder of Kidzmet.com and co-author of At Home for Multiple Intelligences, a new course offered by the MI Institute that starts November 16. To find out more about Kidzmet's Student Snapshots and Pairing Portraits, which can help teachers and parents better understand how their unique kids are wired to learn, click here.

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And the other really exciting news? I'm going to be writing an article to share from Jen's blog-forum, later in the week!! (This learning about blogging is really awesome!!) -- Debbie